How to Personalize Your Wedding Table Runner
Difficulty Level: Easy
Color Inspiration: Pantone's Living Coral and white
PROJECT MATERIALS
• Linen table runner (ours is 16"x40" in Off-White)
• Fabric paint (Bright Coral and Ultra White)
• Wood block
• Yarn (or rubber bands if preferred)
• Paint brush
• Paint palette
• Paper towels
LINEN SOURCING TIP: As much as we love local, there's just no comparison to linen that comes from Europe. If you want a cotton fabric, then yes, source from the States since we have some great quality cotton here. But if you want linen, look to our neighbors across the Atlantic for the quality stuff. It's also considered a much more eco-friendly fabric! That's why we were so excited to have spotted Linen Home Decor on Etsy. Hailing from Greece, Katerina's small shop not only has a vast amount of variety from which to choose, but at very fair prices which makes this a win for anyone looking to buy in bulk for their wedding day (or as we mentioned in our intro to outfit their house in hand-stamped pretties)!
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Pre-wash your table runner using your normal laundry detergent. Do not use any added softeners as this can affect the fabric paint application. Allow to dry.
2. Before you start to stamp, iron your table runner. Linen is naturally "wrinkly" so embrace the beautiful texture, but make sure that the deep creases are smoothed out for even stamping.
3. To create your stamp, tightly wrap a smooth piece of yarn (or rubber band) around your wood block and tie it off on the back side. Adjust your yarn lines to your preference in pattern. The great thing about making your own stamps is that there is no one way to do it! Have fun and make a variety if you'd like!
4. Set your stamp aside, and it's time to mix your fabric paint to the proper Living Coral hue! In your clean paint palette, squeeze out some of your Bright Coral paint. Very slowly and one drip at a time, carefully squeeze out Ultra White into your coral paint. Mix together and add coral or white drops as needed.
HELPFUL TIP: If you have access to a paint chip card from Pantone like we did, it can be helpful to use it to help match your color! Otherwise, you can reference your computer screen and match the best you can! We guarantee no one is going to be analyzing your Pantone accuracy on the big day. (Or at least, we surely hope those kinds of guests aren't invited to your happy celebration! No one has time for that!)
5. Once you achieve your desired Living Coral shade, apply the paint to your stamp using your paintbrush. Use a paper towel to wipe excess paint off or do a test stamp.
OPTIONAL STEP: If you want a real stamp experience, you can create a stamp pad with a kitchen sponge. After you have mixed your paint, just move your paint on top of the sponge and spread evenly. We still prefer the paintbrush for this particular project, though!
6. Starting at the corner of your table runner, firmly press your stamp to create your first impression. Repaint your stamp and create your next impression. Repeat until you stamp your entire table runner!
7. After you have stamped your entire runner, look over and see where it would be beneficial to fill in some of your stamped lines to look more full. Using your paintbrush, brush lightly over any faint or empty patches you want to enhance to achieve that organic stamp mark. Avoid using a wet brush with a ton of paint on it as you don't want to ruin the overall imperfect stamp vibe.
8. Allow to dry for 48-72 hours and then wash your table runner on your washing machine's gentle cycle. Hang to dry or dry on low heat. That's it! Enjoy your handmade table runner!
Love the napkins in our tablescape, too? There's a DIY for that, so check out how to tie dye napkins for your wedding.
TUTORIAL CREDITS
Photography, Tutorial, and Florals: Chelsea LaVere | Venue: Jollity & Co. | Rentals: Mad Hatter Vintage Rentals | Flower Supplies: Morrison's Flowers | Catering: The Twisted Fork | Fabric Paint: DecoArt | Linen Table Runner: Linen Home Decor via Etsy
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